It has been about a month since my last post and I need to clear my camera of its usual detritus. Apologies in advance for any unrotated photos - I invariably forget to turn them before uploading and, once done, it is beyond my meagre IT capabilities to correct them. Most of the ones you have to turn your head to view are flyers for various plays we have seen. Perhaps I should remember to hold the camera in landscape mode before taking those; it would save a lot of angst!
Here goes:
For his birthday back in December, I bought R a one day blacksmithing course to make a chef's knife. The forge was near Welwyn Garden City, so he had an early start and I had most of the day to myself - a very rare occurrence! I love the knife that he made and it sits proudly on my rack in the kitchen - it's the one on the far left in the photo below:
An evening at the National Theatre - courtesy of Vue Cinema! Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth II and the play explored her relationships with her many Prime Ministers. It was excellent and the time flew by:
A production of '1984' at The Corn Exchange. I have to admit that it's not my favourite book, but R wanted to see it and he enjoyed, even if I wasn't so keen. That's not a reflection of the Box Tale Soup Company, they are excellent, I just find the story depressing and rather too close to reality at the moment!
By comparison, the one man production of 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' at Arlington Arts was stunningly good. You knew that you had been acted at! We were on the front row and it was quite scary in parts.
A trip to Baddesley Clinton, a moated manor house near Warwick, with my friend, C:
A Mother's Day trip to the Victoria Rooms in Bristol to hear E play in a concert. I loved every minute!
It was the 250th anniversary of American Independence and the programme was based solely on American music. Funnily enough, we had also attended a concert by the Newbury Choral Society at St. John's Church the evening before (no photo). That was also a celebration of all things American, so it was a bit of a theme for the weekend!
We met E after her morning rehearsal and headed to the East Village vegan cafe in Clifton for lunch. They did a very nice tomato soup:
Inside the Victoria Rooms:
Afterwards, we walked to the centre of Bristol for a Chinese Hotpot supper. You choose your base, a form of protein and a selection of vegetables, which you then add to the stock and simmer at the table until tender. It was tasty and fun, although R was hungry again by the time we got home! When we left, the heavens opened and we ended up catching an Uber back to the car rather than getting soaked.
My Mother's Day flowers:
A New Era production of Arthur Miller's 'The Price'. The first act was entertaining, but the second dragged on a bit!
A walk at Sydmonton Court and Watership Down. Sydmonton Court is the country home of Andrew Lloyd Webber and the public footpath leads right through his estate. Apparently, he tried to get the path moved but the locals objected and so you can walk right by his house and through the grounds, which I admit must be rather annoying for him!
Shepherd's Cottage (undergoing restoration) - the former home of Richard Adams, overlooking Watership Down:
A trip to Silchester - it was dry but quite cold and windy.
We sheltered behind the Roman wall to eat our picnic lunch:
A trip to Stourhead with my friend, S, and her dog, A. A National Trust property in Wiltshire with a neoclassical house and garden, it is frequently used as a film set - Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet had a run in at the folly/temple just visible across the lake! Incidentally, I have really enjoyed the BBC's 'The Other Bennet Sister' recently.
Finally, a trip to the Watermill to see 'Victoria'. We hadn't planned on seeing this until last weekend. We went for a walk to Bagnor and were sitting on a bench at the top of the hill overlooking the theatre, eating our lunch. A lady came plodding slowly up the hill and I told R to scooch up so that she could sit down as well. We got chatting and when I asked if she had come far, she informed us that she was staying at The Watermill as she was performing in their current production. I recalled that 'Victoria' was playing and enquired which role she had. Of course, she was the titular character!
I Googled her when we got home - her name is Amanda Boxer and, amongst many other roles, she played Mrs. Ryan in the film 'Saving Private Ryan'. I haven't seen it personally but believe that it's quite a big deal!
Anyway, we immediately booked tickets and saw 'Victoria' last night; it was brilliant!
Well, that's my camera all cleared. I hope everyone has a lovely Easter and that the weather stays fine for the Bank Holidays. I'm off to sort out my greenhouse and then do a bit of gardening.
Toodle pip for now. x
